Off The Wall
by Sylvia-Mystery
Summary: Santana figures out why Quinn has been so distracted lately. At first she finds the situation hilarious, but sympathy for the blonde -and the rest of McKinley- soon outweighs said amusement, prompting her to take matters into her own hands.
1. Chapter1 of ?

**Title:** Off The Wall (1/?)  
><strong>Author:<strong> **sylvia_mystery**  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Santana/Quinn  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M (later) for sexual situations  
><strong>Length:<strong> 1,600  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> Glee through 2x16 Original Song. Takes place in beginning of Night of Neglect, but no spoilers until next entry.  
><strong>Summary:<strong>Santana figures out why Quinn has been so...distracted lately. At first she finds the situation hilarious, but sympathy for the blonde (and the rest of McKinley) soon outweighs said amusement, prompting her to take matters into her own hands.

A/N: I know some of you are awaiting the sequel to Gryffindor's Greatest Diva, but this had to claw it's way out before I could finish that up lol. (I have started it, so don't lose hope). Also, if i've made too many mistakes point me to a beta so I can get help with that. I wouldn't want to offend the grammar police ;P

Oh and I will try putting a link to this on tumblr as well. I haven't been on it very long and I'm an utter noob lol but if you want to check it out I mostly just reblog. mysteriousscorpio(dot)tumblr(dot)com

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><p>Santana sat in the back of Will Schuester's Spanish class with her cheek propped on her right hand. Her left was busy with a doodle of a large snake wrapping itself around the curly haired teacher, making his eyes bulge humorously. The only reason she had signed up for this stupid class in the first place was to help Brittany, the bonus was that Santana practically earned a free language credit; all she had to do was show up.<p>

Sighing and looking over at the clock, she spied said blonde holding hands with Wheels under their desk. It had been months since she'd felt that same hand against her own during class. Seeing the blonde so content with someone that wasn't _her_, caused Santana to clench her jaw in frustration and glare daggers at the back of Artie's head. If she could concentrate hard enough maybe he would burst into flames.

A sudden cracking noise brought her attention back to her own paper. She had literally snapped her pencil in two with the force of her death grip. _Great._ It was going to be a long day.

Santana inspected the severed utensil in her hand. It had broken exactly in half…

After a few seconds of debating she shrugged and placed the eraser end off to the side. It wasn't that splintery dark wood, so she decided to just continue drawing with the sharpened part. It wasn't like it was worth digging around in her bag for another since she didn't actually need to take notes.

She was shading in the bits of grey vest visible through the snake's coils when a pale hand slapped her wrist down against the table, giving the cartoon version of Mr. Schue what appeared to be a hideously long nose hair.

"Just use a new freaking pencil already! Geez," Quinn whisper-yelled from the seat on her right.

Santana whipped around to glare fiercely at her desk partner. "What the hell, Q?" she said in the same hushed tone.

Quinn just rolled her eyes and turned forward again, resuming her staring contest with the space in front of her.

Santana narrowed her eyes, giving her blonde companion a once over before returning to her own paper. That was odd.

If Quinn had actually been upset at her, things wouldn't have ended like that. Santana knew better. In fact, now that she thought about it, Quinn had been acting even _more _uptight than normal the past week or two. The ex-cheerio seemed to be constantly annoyed, and bits of crazy were starting to peek through her steely composure. Something was definitely up.

Santana pretended to take interest in the drawing again, but out of the corner of her eye she could see that Quinn's gaze was still fixed on the space in front of them. The girl's pink lips were practically cemented into a tight line while the (normally studious) blonde seemed lost to her own musings. Yep, something was going on. Quinn always paid attention in class, yet today, her notebook was suspiciously void of anything Spanish related.

Santana decided then that she was going to investigate the cause of the blonde's recent…distraction. She wanted to start right this instant, but they were stuck learning about, well she hadn't really been paying attention, but there was still twenty minutes of it before the end of class.

She hummed in annoyance before picking up the eraser end of her pencil. She might as well fix her doodle. However, with one final glance up at the seemingly enthusiastic Spanish teacher, Santana tilted her head and smirked to herself. _Hmm, on second thought maybe I'll leave that…_

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><p>Santana flung her locker shut with a bang, just in time to see Brittany roll by on Artie's lap, but the harsh sound was quickly muffled by the sea of juniors flooding the hall on their way to lunch. Santana rolled her eyes and began walking with the current toward the cafeteria. She'd been slyly observing Quinn all morning long, and had yet to notice anything else that seemed out of the ordinary. Quinn had been her usual overachieving self in their pre-Cal, and AP History classes. Although, hints of the inner bitch the girl had been reining in since Beth were beginning to peek through her calm exterior. That wasn't to say the ex-cheerio would be transforming back into the HBIC anytime soon, but something was getting under her skin enough to cause a noticeable blemish.<p>

Santana continued to rack her brain all the way through the lunch line; there was obviously something she was missing. As the Latina sat her tray down next to Mercedes and Sam at the "Gleek" table, she looked around for the blonde in question, but Quinn was nowhere to be found.

_Hmm_.

The former Ice Queen had taken to sitting with Finnocence and the jocks ever since Puck called her out on that hickey during celibacy club a few weeks ago. After quickly scanning the popular table for Finn, Santana couldn't see the 'boy giant' lumbering over his classmates either.

_Interesting._

Despite the possible lead, she decided to ponder the whereabouts of the uber-cliché, name-rhyming couple later, because the tots looked amazing today. Oh yeah, she and Mercedes were abouts' to get their eat on.

When Santana reached AP-Chem that afternoon she still had 8 minutes before the end-of-lunch bell so she dropped down on her assigned barstool and took out her phone. Since Britts liked to push McCripple Pants to and from class most of the time she didn't have anyone to keep her from coming in late. Her life was depressingly empty without Cheerios and the bubbly blonde. Well, she _did_ have Sam, but she had been avoiding him in the halls to keep from hearing his nerdy voice impressions (Seriously, how many times can you reference Sean Connery in one conversation?). Okay, so maybe things had been a wee bit tense between them since she performed Trouty Mouth last week (She still didn't see why it was such a big deal to sing a soulful tribute to your lover's extra-large lips). And yeah, _Santana_ might have been the one avoiding Brittany since the girl had chosen to stay with Roller Boy even after she had admitted her _feelings_. Whatever.

She was just opening Angry Birds, when a flushed looking Quinn shuffled through the door. The blonde practically slammed her books onto their lab table as she took her seat next to Santana. The Latina made an effort to appear unaffected as she began her quest to demolish the evil pig fortress.

Over the top of her game Santana watched Quinn reapply her lip gloss before haphazardly flipping her lab booklet to the page number listed on the board. The first action was nothing out of the ordinary, seeing as how they had just came from lunch, but- Before Santana could further assess her friend's demeanor, her thoughts were derailed by the teach coming in and telling her to put her phone away unless she wanted to pick it up in Figgins's office after school. Murmuring a few derogatory words under her breath, she locked the screen and tucked the phone securely back into her bra.

About fifteen minutes into the lesson Santana noticed that Quinn couldn't seem to sit still. She tried to ignore the blonde's squirming and focus on hydrogen bonds, but the girl's constant fidgeting was becoming pretty damn distracting: squeezing her hand between her knees, readjusting her position on the stool, crossing and re-crossing her legs, and—

It hit Santana like a slushy to the face.

Finn.

_Finn_ sat in front of them in Spanish. Quinn's "angry" had been fixated on the back of _Finn's_ head the entire period. It all made sense now. How had she not caught on to this before now? The constant irritation, drifting off in class, the frequent squirming, skipping lunch with her boyfriend…

Santana could barely restrain her laughter.

Quinn Fabray was sexually frustrated.

It was taking every ounce of willpower the Latina possessed not to lose it in the middle of class.

The fact that Quinn had just returned from a "nooner," with her _boyfriend_, had the raven haired girl literally shaking in attempt to contain her amusement. Standing abruptly with a hand cupped over her twitching lips, Santana snatched a hall pass from the teach's desk and practically dashed to the bathroom…where she proceeded to laugh uninhibited for the next five minutes.

Santana's ribs ached by the time the spasms subsided. She was at the sink wiping the ruined mascara from under her eyes when the second wave hit her. After that she decided to just skip the rest of the period, because if she saw Quinn's face anytime soon, there was no way she would be able to make it through the lesson without causing a scene. Believe it or not, Santana did care about her blonde friend enough not to openly tease her about it in front of half the junior class. Luckily they didn't share any more classes until after school glee rehearsal. She would surely have control over her emotions by then.

Still chuckling, Santana dabbed the last of the black smudges from her aching cheeks. It was probably safe to hang out in the restroom until the bell rang. She guessed that no one would come looking for her after she had run out of the room with her hand covering her nose and mouth. Hopefully Mr. Teach would think she had gotten a nosebleed or something and taken herself to the nurse. She'd worry about excuses tomorrow, though.

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><p>Thoughts?<p>

(If someone who has artistic talents were to draw aforementioned doodle, it would possibly be like, the BEST THING EVER;)


	2. Chapter 2 of ?

My life right now = insane. Two jobs + summer classes lol. But I managed to get a tidbit in before crashing tonight. Unbeta'd. Mistakes are mine blah blah.

A big thanks to AarumaA for catching that I wrote S as a righty (which is fixed now btw;). Shame on me because I know better lol.

To boringsiot: who asked if this was a oneshot? No. It's going to be a few chapters but nothing super long. I would have replied to you personally and sooner, but it says your PMs are disabled.

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><p>By the time Glee started that afternoon Santana had had a couple classes to calm down, and at some point during those pitiful excuses for academic instruction her amusement gradually morphed into pity. She <em>had<em> slept with the boy, after all. And despite his attempts show them both a fun night (he did try, she would give him that); the experience had been dull at best. It didn't take much skill to finish the jock, and even though he lasted far longer than the rumors gave him credit for, he didn't have a clue how to bring a girl to climax. (Lucky for him, Santana already had plenty of experience in that department ;) So judging by the way Quinn had been acting as of late, her bumbling beau still hadn't acquired the magic 'touch'.

Santana smirked inwardly at her own pun as she dodged pieces of taffy Mr. Schue was currently launching at them. It was really too bad that coach Sylvester had scattered their funds abroad, because there was no WAY they were going to sell any of this crap. She decided to share this "enlightened" observation with the curly haired instructor and proceeded explain exactly why she thought it was a stupid plan. Seriously, even Britts could tell that his math was wrong…

During the chaos that was rehearsal (Which consisted of Santana tuning out all the arguments and ludicrous sales pitch ideas in favor of observing Finn and Quinn) Santana decided that Quinn could probably use someone to talk to, or at the very least, an opportunity to vent her frustrations. After all, they were friends right? Well, maybe they weren't the _closest_ after the incident at the start of term, she frowned at the memory of slapping her former best friend, but they definitely weren't enemies.

When practice finally ended, Santana made sure to take an exaggerated amount of time getting her things together instead of bolting straight for the door like she had for the past couple weeks. What? She wasn't a coward; she was just avoiding the tension that's all.

With good intentions in mind, the Latina approached Quinn after the power couple kissed and Finn departed for the weight room.

She just managed to catch a cardigan covered elbow as the blonde was making her way out of the room. "Hey Q, hold up a sec." Santana paused to figure out how to broach the intended subject, but was quickly cut off when Quinn realized who had caught her arm.

"Oh Santana," Quinn mused out loud. "I almost forgot, I have your lab book. You left it on the table in your mad dash out of the room." The taller girl mockingly teased as she dug around in her bag for said item.

"Uh, yeah. Nosebleed," Santana muttered unconvincingly. It was a lame excuse and she knew it. "Anyway, uh-" She cleared her throat, which had mysteriously gone dry; "I was going to ask if you maybe wanted to hang out at mine after school today?"

"You don't sound too sure about that, S."

"That's because it was kind of a last minute decision."

"Uh huh." Quinn raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "What exactly are you up to, Santana?"

"The skepti-brow already, Q?" Santana tried to jest. "I thought I could at least get as far as an invitation to hang out before getting the—"

"Spit it out, Lopez." Santana smirked. Ok, if that's how she wanted to play.

"The jolly green jock can't manage to give you the big O," Quinn's jaw drops in that comical way that Santana has only seen on cartoons. "so you shuffle around all day frustrated as hell and nearly miss entire class periods because you can't stop glaring long enough to realize there is a lesson going on. Not that I blame you, by the way, because most of these teachers are crazy old birds parroting the same spiel no matter what grade/class they teach. But—"

"Santana!" Quinn breathes out harshly, sounding completely scandalized.

"-I thought I would offer an empathetic ear to give you a chance to vent" Santana continued as if there was no interruption, mirth swimming in her dark eyes. "before you unleash the oh-so-frigid bitch you've been trying, successfully, might I add, to rein in this past year."

"How-How did you-" Quinn sputtered in confusion.

"How did I know? Oh Please, Q, it's not that difficult to put the pieces together." Hazel irises widened in panic… "I've been on that ride myself, remember?"

"Don't worry," Santana rolled her eyes as she spoke. "I doubt that the rest of McKinley has noticed anything other than you've been increasingly irritable…including Finn," she added with a chuckle.

At this point Quinn felt like she was going to be sick. However, that slight nauseous feeling quickly vanished and was soon replaced with anger as she focused back on the girl in front of her.

When Santana saw the flash of heat in her friend's eyes she realized that it was time to sober up. The Latina raised her hands in submission. "Look," she said softly, earnestly attempting to diffuse the tension they both knew was building. "I got a bit carried away there, but-" Quinn opened her mouth to agree, but was silenced quickly. "-But," Santana emphasized. "I really did mean what I said, about having someone to talk to that is. I mean I-I've been kind of lonely myself lately, so I figured why not do the both of us some good and-"

"Okay." The reply was clear and curt, but not unfriendly. Santana looked up at Quinn in surprise. She honestly thought it would take a little more work than that.

It must have shown on her face too because Quinn rolled her eyes and sighed, "Let's just head to yours before the custodial staff realizes you're really a softie," she said with a wink. With that blonde turned on her stylishly booted heel and started toward the parking lot, the late afternoon sun gilding her path to the double doors.

Santana stood outside the choir room in a daze for several moments before taking off after the taller girl, the sides of her mouth slowly turning up into genuine smile. The first one in days.

**tbc**

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><p>I would like to add that I don't hate Finn so you won't find a lot of Finn!bashing here. Will I ever ship Finchel? Probably not as long as the writers make him the hero despite the fact that he is an unapologetic d-bag. That said, I really do want to like the guy and believe he has a good heart.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 of ?

ch3! lol unbeta'd as always (any volunteers?)

**A/N**: So I reread chapter 2 and edited a couple spelling errors/added a few sentences to help the flow a bit. I did write that one at like 3am, so yeah.  
>To those who asked..there will be no Finn!loving in <em>this<em> story. Not too much about him at all if I can help it lol.  
>Also, a huge thanks to everyone who takes their time to read and review :) I'm blown away by the number of hits and alerts on this.<p>

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><p>It was nearly half 5 by the time both cars reached 1526 Lima Heights Adjacent. Turning into the driveway first, Santana quickly clicked her door open and skidded into the far side of the spacious three car garage. Quinn, who arrived in a much more subdued manner, parked directly behind Santana to avoid blocking the other two doors; she never knew what schedule Dr. Lopez was on so it was better than guessing wrong and having to move later.<p>

Santana held the door to the kitchen open for Quinn, and as soon as the blonde made it inside she leaned back out to hit the garage door button. She accidentally left it open the night before and her papi had found a 'surprise' from their neighbor's cat in the seat of his convertible this morning. Needless to say, there would not be a repeat performance this evening. 'Stupid fat cat', she thought, closing the kitchen door with a bit more force than was really necessary.

When Santana finally made her way into the room, she saw Quinn sitting at the island with two bottles of water. She made her way to the center of the kitchen and sat down on a barstool across from her guest.

Quinn rolled an unopened bottle of water toward Santana, causing it to leave a small trail of condensation on the granite countertop. "Nice to see you still know your way around the fridge, Q." Santana joked, secretly happy that the other girl still felt comfortable in her home.

"Well if I had waited for you to offer, we would have both gone thirsty," she teased back.

They sat in awkward silence for a while just staring at one another. Neither girl seemed interested in bringing up the aforementioned conversation. Instead, each pretended to be content with basking in the fading sunlight that shone through the patio doors.

Well this is getting us absolutely Hell-To-The _nowhere_, Santana thought to herself. Maybe she should let it be for a while and just enjoy having her friend over; it wasn't like they did this multiple times a week anymore. She sighed deeply at the thought, and using the tips of her fingers, began to trace the shimmering veins of white that were confined within the dark granite. Their lack involvement was just as much her fault as it was Quinn's…

Santana glanced up from the contrasting patterns to observe her friend. Quinn had peeled the label off her bottle and was attempting to fold it into a mini airplane when Santana finally broke the silence. "Okay so this is stupid, why don't we go see if there is anything on TV? I might even let you watch that weird creature channel you used like so much."

Quinn chuckled despite herself, "You mean National Geographic? What are we, ten?"

"Shut up Q, you used to love that show, especially when they did those hidden lion cam episodes and you could see-"

"Okay, okay, enough reminiscing," Quinn interrupted! They were so _not_ going to revisit the time she made them watch the special about lion prides, not realizing the whole thing was basically about mating rituals and not about the cute little cubs she'd seen on the previews. Santana had teased her about it for weeks afterward. "You go get the chocolate," Quinn pointed toward the pantry "and I'll put in some popcorn," she ordered, eying her friend suspiciously.

The girls gathered their respective food items and settled on the massive brown couch in the living room. Fortunately (in Santana's opinion) there were no animal programs on, but they did find one about deep space exploration that neither of them outright rejected, so they just let it play and began munching on their snacks.

"Fuck this is so good." Santana groaned moments later, causing Quinn to snort into her mug of chocolate and dribble the hot liquid down her face and chin. "What?" she'd said as the blonde wiped her upper lip with the back of her wrist. "You know I can't make popcorn without burning it. It's not fair, yours always comes out perfect," the darker girl whined, before pointedly nodding toward her own mug in front of them. "Too bad I can't say the same thing about your chocolate," she taunted, stuffing her face with more of the buttery goodness.

Soon as she managed to clean herself up, Quinn took one final sip from her cup before setting it on the coffee table beside Santana's. She then grabbed the pillow beside her and tossed it straight at Santana's head, knocking the girl's fist full of popcorn all over the couch.

_Oh no she didn't..._

Santana stared at her empty hand in disbelief for a few moments before grabbing the pillow and chucking it back at Quinn twice as hard. After that things quickly escalated into an all-out war, snacks and television show long forgotten.

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><p>Mrs. Lopez opened the kitchen door to loud, pitchy squeals coming from the den. Santana hadn't had anyone over in a while, and she wasn't expecting the girl to bring home company so she quickly dropped the grocery sack in her arms and headed towards the great racket fearing the worst.<p>

When the older woman realized who it was she brought her hand to her heart in relief. Thank goodness it was only Quinn and- "Mijas!" She shouted when she saw the popcorn strewn across every surface of the living room. "Ay Dios…What is all this commotion?"

The girls, who had ceased their wild game upon hearing Mrs. Lopez's shout, looked up at her with wide innocent eyes and popcorn laden hair, each pointing to the other.

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><p>Apparently the arrival of Mrs. Lopez, as well as the popcorn incident, had been an effective ice breaker for Santana and Quinn. While they painstakingly cleaned up every last kernel (as ordered by one Mrs. Lopez), the glee-mates talked and groused about the ridiculous taffey plan and what new movies and songs they were into. Santana decided that is was actually pretty fun hanging around Quinn without any pressure to perform andor the stress of disagreeing friends and boyfriends.

Right, boyfriends, Santana thought absently. If she truly wanted to be there for her friend then she would have to bring up _that_ awkward topic eventually. But before she could figure out a way to steer the conversation down that road, they were interrupted by Santana's mother calling them into the kitchen.

The girls dropped the last of the scattered popcorn into the bag and grabbed their mugs of cold chocolate before heading toward the kitchen. They found Maribel hovering over a pan of stir-fry vegetables and chicken. The older woman was humming familiar tune to herself as she added just the right amounts of seasoning.

Quinn gave Santana a silent, 'aw she's so cute' look behind Mrs. Lopez back. Santana rolled her eyes, but she couldn't quite hold in her smile when Maribel hit the chorus (it was one the glee club had performed earlier that year). Incidentally, Mrs. Lopez took that moment to turn around and saw both girls smiling sweetly at each other.

"It's so nice to see you girls getting along again," Maribel said, interrupting their moment as she turned back around to stir the vegetables. "Quinn, I'm glad you came over tonight; you can keep Santana company this evening because her father has asked me out to a late dinner. Apparently he can't manage to get off at a decent hour so he is bribing the manager of Breadstix to keep it open late for us." Santana was about to interject, but Mrs. Lopez cut her off with a wave of her spatula. "Don't worry mija; I wouldn't dream of leaving without bringing you home a goody bag." The older woman grinned in the girls'direction, showing the faintest of laugh lines around her eyes.

Quinn couldn't help but laugh out loud when she realized that Mrs. Lopez was entirely serious. "Oh wow, Santana, I thought you had outgrown asking your parents for a doggie bag every time they go out," she laughed.

"Hey! I don't do it _every_ time" the Latina argued, "…just Breadstix!"

"Uh huh, sure," Quinn teased as she caught Maribel winking over her shoulder.

"You guys always gang up on me," Santana protested as her walked over behind her mother and tried to steal a vegetable.

"Ay muchacha!" She slapped her daughter's hand with the spatula and Santana squeaked out in surprise. "Can you not wait five minutes?" "But I'm hungry now," the dark headed girl pleaded, hugging her mother's waist from behind.

Maribel huffed, "Stop trying to butter me up and go set the table for the both of you. And whose fault is it that you are hungry? Maybe you will think before flinging your afternoon snack all over the furniture next time, hmm?" Santana and Quinn exchanged sheepish grins as they set out a couple plates and some silverware.

"Speaking of ganging up on Santana," Mrs. Lopez continued wryly. "Would you like to spend the night, Quinn? I know Carlos would love to see you, and it will be fairly late before he and I make it home tonight. Since you and Santana are no longer on the Cheerios I thought we could all have breakfast together before you two leave for school?"

"I, uh," Quinn stuttered. The invitation to stay the night definitely caught her off guard. It had been months since she even stepped foot in the Lopez household, yet she was being treated like it was just yesterday.

"Don't put her on the spot, mami," Santana cut in after sensing her friend's hesitation. She smiled at Quinn to let her know she shouldn't feel obligated to accept her mother's invitation, even though Santana really hoped Quinn would say yes. She hadn't had a sleepover (that didn't involve Brittany ;) in a very long time. "Besides," Santana added humorously, "Quinn probably has _way_ more interesting things to do in the morning than plot my epic downfall over pancakes with papi." All three of them laughed this time.

"No pressure, Quinn," Mrs. Lopez offered with a kind smile as she tipped the contents of the frying pan into a large bowl. "There's always another time."

"I'd love to." Quinn had spoken before she even realized the words were out of her mouth, but she continued on anyway. "Mom is working late as well, so it's not like she will miss me for dinner. I'd better leave her a voicemail just in case though."

"Wonderful! I'll make sure to pick up some chocolate chips for the pancake batter on my way to the restaurant. I know they're your favorite," Mrs. Lopez added cheerfully.

Quinn blushed. "Yes, ma'am, still my favorite," she said shyly.

"Well, now that that's settled, I need to shower and shave before my hot date," Maribel winked while Santana made a gagging noise. "You two eat up, and Santana, see to it that the dishes actually make it to the dishwasher and don't just sit in the sink until I come home."

"Gotcha covered, Mrs. L," Quinn saluted playfully before nudging her friend who was sitting on the stool besides her, already eating. "Yeah, okay," Santana managed between bites. Quinn and Maribel exchanged a knowing glance before the older woman disappeared up the stairs.

**tbc**

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><p>I haven't had time to watch the last episode of Season 3 yet, so sorry if any of the details about Santana's parents conflict with cannon<p> 


	4. Chapter 4 of ?

**So...It's been almost 6 months. Too many excuses to list, but mostly I'm working my tail off to graduate in May and free time has not been an option since starting my senior year back in June.**

**On a happy note, starting with this chapter I now have a lovely beta ** . **So a big** _Thank_ _You_** to D. !**

**I was going to wait to post 4 and 5 together since it has been so long, but I'm just not happy with 5 atm. But finals will be done in two weeks! so _soon_! lol**

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><p>After finishing off the stir fry, the girls loaded the dishwasher and (at Quinn's insistence) wiped down the countertops.<p>

"So what now?" Quinn asked, fixing Santana with curious look as she hung up their dishtowels.

Santana just shrugged, she wasn't really sure what to do with the rest of their evening since she hadn't planned on Quinn spending the night. They'd just have to wing it, she mused. "I don't know. It's still kind of early; maybe we could put on a movie or just talk for a while before starting our homework?"

"Okay." Quinn nodded her approval and pulled out her phone. "Why don't you pick something out while I call my mom?"

"Sounds like a deal, Q."

Santana made her way to the entertainment center with a smile on her face. She had the perfect DVD in mind, one she knew Quinn had been avoiding for the past couple of years.

As soon as she was done leaving her mother a voicemail Quinn sank down on the couch next to Santana. The blonde carefully placed her phone on the armrest before tucking her long legs beneath her person to get comfortable. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly as she looked over to see the darker girl poised at the opposite end of the sofa, holding the remote. Santana smiled back at her, a little _too_ sweetly, causing Quinn's brow to furrow in confusion. _Why would_…

Almost at once, the surround sound pulsed to life as familiar music from the dvd menu filled the room.

It was all Santana could do to keep a straight face as realization washed over the blonde next to her. She watched as Quinn's eyes squeezed closed, the skin around them scrunching adorably, partly from embarrassment, but also in restrained amusement. _Ha, Santana thought, Quinnie definitely wasn't expecting that._

Quinn finally opened her eyes and looked at the brunette as if to say, _seriously_? Santana just winked back at her. After a few moments of staring each other down, the taller girl rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Alright, fine." Quinn challenged playfully, settling back into the couch and crossing her arms with a huff. The brunette sent Quinn a rather devilish smirk as she hit "play" on the universal. Quinn's eyes flicked to Santana's lips momentarily before meeting the amused gaze of her friend with defiance.

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><p>The girls let the film play in silence, occasionally laughing at the characters and their shenanigans, each enjoying each other's company without feeling the need to make conversation. <em>I miss this, <em>Santana thought fleetingly_._ She made up her mind right then and there that no matter what the future held, they wouldn't let anymore high school B.S. get in the way of their friendship.

About forty minutes in, they heard the sound of heels clicking swiftly down the stairs. Mrs. Lopez appeared behind them moments later.

"Oh! I love the Lion King," Maribel exclaimed excitedly! "You two haven't watched this in forever!"

Quinn's face flushed pink as both girls turned backward to look at the older woman who was standing behind the couch attempting to fasten in her second earring.

"I know Mami. It's such a shame because Quinn and I really love this movie." Santana offered, turning back toward her friend with an innocent smile.

"Um, yeah, it's such a great…story." Quinn replied, eyeing Santana with an expression that screamed, '_I am so going to get you back for this, just you wait._'

"Speaking of great," Quinn continued, recovering from her bout of shyness like the pro she was, "you look amazing Mrs. L, Dr. Lopez is going to feel like the luckiest man in town."

"Always such a flatterer, Quinn, one of the many reasons I love you," Maribel winked. She gave the blonde's shoulder an affectionate squeeze before bending over to place a kiss on top of her daughter's head. "Make sure you behave yourself this evening, mija. I'd like to see this one here," Mrs. Lopez gestured in Quinn's direction, "around more often, capiche?" And before either of the girls could answer, Maribel turned around and headed off toward the kitchen to retrieve her purse and keys. The older Lopez shouted a quick farewell before flipping off the lights, leaving the girls in darkness except for the soft glow of the flat screen, and heading out to the garage.

Quinn saw the short pause in their movie watching as an opportune moment to (escape) use the restroom and excused herself politely. She was enjoying being back in the Lopez's home and felt incredibly guilty when attention was drawn to the fact that she hadn't been around in a while.

While Quinn was taking care of business, Santana scooted over to the blonde's side of the couch to turn on the small lamp sitting on the end table. During her fumbling in the dark she ended up knocking Quinn's phone off into the candy dish below. It hit the patterned glass with sharp 'plang', signaling that the container was almost empty. The Latina just managed to pull the switch chord when she heard the device buzz loudly inside the dish. _It's probably Quinn's mom getting back to her, I better check it to see if she's ok with Quinn staying over. _

Santana unlocked the screen easily (What? She had casually noticed (intently watched) the pattern Quinn had swiped earlier) only to see a new text from Finn, who was wondering why his girlfriend hadn't made it home yet. Apparently he was supposed to come over tonight because Mrs. Fabray was working late. Santana chuckled inwardly before hitting 'reply'.

When Quinn returned from the bathroom she found her friend occupying her previous seat and typing on the phone. _Wait, that's my phone…_

"Care to tell me what you are doing with my phone, S?" Quinn smirked as arched a perfect blond eyebrow in her friend's direction.

"Oh, you know, just talking to your clueless boyfriend."

The grin was instantly wiped from Quinn's face and she palmed her forehead. "Shit! I completely forgot that he was coming over tonight…What did he say?"

"Just something about if you would be there anytime soon because his lard ass is sittin' in your driveway." Quinn frowned at this. "Don't worry though," Santana placated, "I told him it was my fault for inviting you over at the last minute, and that you would call him back as soon as we were done having mind-blowing sex." (Santana had actually apologized, saying that her mom had guilted Quinn into staying over and it wasn't his girlfriend's fault. She had only answered because Quinn was in the bathroom and Santana had thought it was Mrs. Fabray. Finn messaged back with: "thts ok. puck jst called me ovr 2 play COD. please tell quinn I said 2 have a good nite :))

Quinn's eyes widened in horror. "What?! O.m.g. Santana! Give me that!" The blonde dove for the phone but Santana had anticipated the move. She quickly pulled the device to her chest and rolled to the side causing Quinn to fall forward onto the couch. The Latina cackled at her friend's miscalculation which only served to irritate the taller girl further. "Hand it over _now_ Santana," Quinn demanded. "Come and get it then," the darker girl taunted back, waving the phone high above her head.

This proved to be Santana's first mistake. Quinn pounced on top of the other girl who was now shielding the small device in both hands. In her attempt to pry it out of the Latina's clasped hands, she ended up tugging a little too hard. Her position atop Santana was rather precarious due to the context of their tussle and the swift movement sent them both sprawling to the living room floor with a loud 'thump'.

"Ouch! What the hell, Q?"

"What do _you_ mean, 'Ouch'?" Quinn grumbled from underneath the brunette. "I'm the one who broke _your_ fall!"

"Because…" Santana grunted as she rolled off her friend and onto her back. "I think your fucking hip bone has caused me to bleed internally."

Quinn snorted. "Serves you right for telling Finn we had sex."

Both girls looked over at each other for a moment before bursting out in in a giggle fit.

As soon as she caught her breath, Santana swiped the screen open on Quinn's phone and handed it to the blonde lying beside her. Quinn stared at the screen a few seconds before relocking it and setting it onto the coffee table above them. She turned her head back to the right, meeting her friend's deep gaze. Santana's brown eyes shone brighter than ever under the direct glow of the table lamp. Dark amber irises flickered with mirth…and a subtle endearment that Quinn knew would likely never be voiced. No matter what she said, underneath it all Santana Lopez cared, more than she would ever admit to anyone (well, to anyone other than Brittany), and in this moment it made Quinn's heart flutter almost imperceptibly.

"You could have just said that before I landed us on the floor, San."

"I know," the brunette replied warmly, propping herself up on one elbow. "But where's the fun in that?" She teased.

"True. Although," Quinn complained as she sat up. "It would have been a hell of a lot easier on my back."

"Yeah, sorry about that…" Santana thought about it for a moment and soon thought of a way to make up for her ill-fated joke, even though it _was_ Quinn's fault they ended up on the floor. "Tell you what Quinnie-the-pooh (she ignored the way her friend's jaw dropped indignantly at the name), hows about you helps my ass out from under this coffee table and when we're settled back on the couch like civilized people, I'll rub your shoulders while we finish the movie. Deal?"

"Quinn chuckled before rolling her eyes and offering a pale hand. "How could I refuse a famous Lopez shoulder massage?" The blonde said with a wink.

"Beats me," Santana wiggled her fingers suggestively, "everybody knows these hands are magic."

This caused Quinn to laugh even harder as they struggled to pull one another off the carpet.

After both girls had made back onto the couch and movie had been turned back on, Santana scooted up against the backrest and guided Quinn to sit down between her legs.

"Q, take off your granny jacket so I can 'gets my massage on'." Quinn rolled her eyes at the remark but slipped out of her cardigan and tossed it to the side.

The darker girl started off on the back of her friend's neck and slowly began working down along the spine. On the way back up she spread out between slightly protruding shoulder blades and began kneading the myriad of knots taking up residence there. Even through gritted teeth Quinn couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath in minor discomfort every time the shorter girl hit a particularly sore spot.

Santana noticed the slight wince every time she attempted to work out any of the knots. "Damn Quinn, you're really fucking tense."

"However did you guess," The blonde joked sarcastically. "Ow!"

"My bad. You know, it isn't exactly healthy to be in a constant state of agony, Quinn." Santana remarked.

"Oh really, you think?!" Quinn snapped.

The blonde closed her eyes and sighed heavily before visibly deflating. "I'm sorry; I've just been really stressed lately."

_No Shit, _Santana thought. _If I had been repeatedly worked up and left hanging I'd blow my freaking top!_ She felt a new wave of sympathy for her friend. To be honest Santana had no idea how Quinn had made it this long, she would have been touching herself constantly to stay sane if she was in that position. _It's not like you gave her that option by promptly inviting her over here before she had a chance._ Well crap. She supposed they needed to get this conversation over with anyway, so why not just rip off the Band-Aid now.

Quinn could tell something was coming. Santana wasn't usually this silent after a bitchy remark like the one she delivered a moment ago. The Latina generally puffed up like a porcupine, launching numerous verbal barbs when anyone so much as glanced at her in a challenging manner.

"Have you ever tried just showing him how you like it, Quinn?" Santana asked softly.

Quinn froze under Santana's hands. Whatever she had been expecting…yeah, it hadn't been that.

By the way the blonde went from semi-relaxed to completely rigid, Santana knew she had hit the nail on the head. Which meant Quinn had done no such thing. And knowing the former Christ Crusader, she had probably never even entertained the thought of giving verbal direction during sex. Lucky for her, Santana Lopez was an expert at telling others exactly what she wanted.

Santana resumed her work on the taller girl's muscles, determined to get through to her friend. "I'm serious Quinn, guide him through it when you have sex. Show him where it feels the best for you. You can even touch yourself while he watches. Trust me, that would be a huge turn on for both of you."

"_Santana_! I don't- We don't-," Quinn sputtered in embarrassment. When she finally pulled herself together, she replied in a hushed tone, "We don't have _s-sex_. I'm…not ready for that, not after having a baby. We just…you know, we just touch each other. And" Quinn hid her face in her hands, the words coming out slightly muffled through her fingers, "I've- I've never, done _that_. So I wouldn't know what to tell him anyway."

_Holy shit. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Is she serious? _"Are you serious?!" Santana asked before her brain caught up with her mouth.

She quickly moved on before Quinn could answer. "Sorry, that just slipped out. Of course you're serious. And it's no wonder you're so tense, how on earth did you make it through pregnancy?" Santana was dumfounded. _No wonder Q was such a royal bitch; I can't even imagine how hard that was._

"I…can we stop talking about this?" Quinn deflected uncomfortably. "I should probably go home anyway, I need to do a lot of homework and—"

The blonde had reached for her cardigan and started to rise off the couch but was impeded by gentle hands on her shoulders. "Hold up, Q." Santana pulled her back down and wrapped her arms around her friend's waist in a reassuring hug. Resting her chin on Quinn's left shoulder, and speaking with a rare bout of sincerity, she apologized. " Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't realize, and honestly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just trying to help you out because I hate seeing you this stressed." _Plus you're a freaking time bomb if I let this go,_ Santana added in her head. "You have absolutely _nothing_ to feel embarrassed about, alright? Well, except maybe that you're dating Bigfoot," She jested playfully. This earned her a slap on the arm, but more importantly, Quinn seemed to relax into her embrace. "We okay?" She asked hesitantly.

Quinn let out a long breath and began to minutely sway them from side to side. "Yeah, we're good. I shouldn't have gotten so defensive. But I really _do_ need to do my homework. Like you said, I was a bit distracted today in a few classes," She sighed.

Santana didn't want to end their little moment, but she knew Quinn was right. She had to catch up on whatever she missed during biology. _Good thing Quinn was thoughtful enough to grab my lab book or I'd have been screwed._ This gave Santana an idea, hopefully one that would benefit them both.

"Hey, hows about you go out and get your backpack and bring it up to my room. While you're doing that I'm going to run you a scalding hot bath with lots of bubbles."

"Hmm. And what do _you_ get out of this?" the blonde asked with a laugh.

"I," Santana replied, "get to copy your biology while you relax away some of the stress and as many of these, Santana tweaked one of the sore spots on the blonde's back for effect, knots as possible."

"That actually sounds pretty amazing, Santana." Quinn chuckled as she remembered the Latina running out of class. "By the way, how is your "nose"? The taller girl air quoted skeptically.

"Never better, Q. Never better."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to everyone still reading, feel free to tell me what you like and don't like! or drop by my <span>tumblr<span> : **

** mysteriousscorpio [] tumblr[]...**

Also, I would love any good **fic recs** you might have (to read over the break) because I have been absent so long I have no idea what I've been missing! :/


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